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I've been making more vlogs than I can update sadly, so here is all my first reaction of the films I've watched in the month of July! Please subscribe to my youtube channel to see all my reviews first!
Pacific Rim (2013, Guillermo del Toro)
Girl Most Likely (2013, Shari Springer Berman & Robert Pulcini)
Red 2 (2013, Dean Parisot)
The Wolverine (2013, James Mangold)
The To Do List (2013, Maggie Carey)
Ashes of Time (1994, Wong Kar-wai)
Huang Yao-shi: Someone I met recently gave me this gave me this bottle of wine. She said this wine is magic. One cup and you'll forget your past. I thought it was nonsense. How could such a wine exist? She said the root of man's problem is memory. Without a past, everyday would be a new beginning. Wouldn't that be great?
My review of the films that were shown at LA Film Fest are all coming together very slowly. Slowly but surely, they are all getting done! I have a couple of more and then I am done! That is depending when all the film are getting released! But here are some of the rest!
Fruitvale Station (2013, Ryan Coogler)
The Conjuring (2013, James Wan)
Only God Forgives (2013, Nichols Winding Refn)
If you loved The Cove, you're definitely going to love Blackfish. The content is just as harrowing if not more because you literally witness someone almost dying in front of you. If a video of someone being drowned by a killer whale is not petrifying enough, I don't know what is!
Hollywood and Silicon Valley
Collide: Immersion, Interactivity and Narrative Expansion panel consisted of (left to right) Florian Henckel Von Donnersmark, director of The Lives of Others, Author
Cornelia Funke, Geoffrey Long, Program Manager and Narrative Design at Microsoft,
Scott Snibbe, CEO of Snibbe Interactive which was moderated by Andy Merkin,
Head of Transmedia and Special Projects, at Mirada Studios. The panel discussed
how art could be integrated with transmedia to expand their stories and
eventually make them iconic to further serve future generations. With the help
of Mirada Studios, Cornelia was able to create Mirrorworld, an app that tells
living stories that expand on the fantasy world of her best selling novels. She usually writes her stories on paper so she
can quickly jot down her thoughts as well as pair illustrations to her stories.
And with the help of Mirrorworld, she was able to translate her emotions
directly onto a platform and reflect the world she created in her mind.
Living in the digital age has
opened doors to endless possibilities through transmedia and marketing. With
apps and interactive media, it helps artists like filmmakers and writers alike
to take their stories to the limits of their imagination and into future
generations. Marketing seems like a superficial extension of art but it has
created a chance to provide a vast experience and enhance their work instead of
destroying it. The best example of good marketing is the Star Wars franchise.
They took the image of Darth Vader and produced apps, toy figurines, video
games, and so now even when we hear his voice, see his silhouette, or even a
hand motion that suggests the way he choked Luke Skywalker, fans immediately
can identify who he is. Even bad marketing allows the stories and characters to
live beyond from what they initiated started from whether it is from the movies
or books. It’s not about retelling the same story but creating worlds big
enough where the audience can get lost and create their own realm. Negative
space allows more people to explore the boundless universe and share the
experience.
Future generations are growing up
with phones, internet, television, and films that allows the integration of
these projects to be much easier. We are in the best time for filmmaking where
anything you imagine is possible. Witnessing artists now thinking about the
future in terms of trying to make their projects more interactive as well as
iconic even before they create their work is truly progressive. The way art is
heading whether it is in films or books, the prospect to integrate it with
other mediums and expand the stories for generations to come is the most
hopeful and beautiful collision of Hollywood and Silicon Valley.
Paris is Burning (1990, Jennie Livingston)
When someone has rejection from their mother and father, their family, they - when they get out in the world - they search. They search for someone to fill that void.
Thanks Crome Yellow for updating on this first. The first poster of Spike Lee's remake of Park Chan-wook's infamous film, Old Boy is out! At first glance, it looks really campy but I guess, the poster does a good job in exuding some kind of mystery behind the well-known story. I don't know I'm in complete denial. I guess we'll all have to wait till it comes out on October 25 to find out!
This is my collection of reviews of all the films I watched at this year's LA Film Fest which includes more than twenty films I saw!
Read more »
READ MORE
The top films were:
-The Act of Killing
-The Crash Reel
-Venus Vs.
-The Spectacular Now (only cause I know everyone will love it)
Short Term 12: B+
Crystal Fairy: B
Ain't Them Bodies Saints: B
I.D.: B
All of Me: A
Drug War: B
All Together Now: C
Europa Report: A
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction: A
You're Next: B
Fruitvale Station: A-
The Women & the Passenger: A
Dormant Beauty: C+
Goodbye World: B
Only God Forgives: B
Lesson of the Evil: B
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: A
Nobody's Daughter: B
Delivery: B+
The Conjuring: A
Forty Years From Yesterday: A-
The Way, Way, Back: B+
-The Act of Killing
-The Crash Reel
-Venus Vs.
-The Spectacular Now (only cause I know everyone will love it)
Short Term 12: B+
Crystal Fairy: B
Ain't Them Bodies Saints: B
I.D.: B
All of Me: A
Drug War: B
All Together Now: C
Europa Report: A
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction: A
You're Next: B
Fruitvale Station: A-
The Women & the Passenger: A
Dormant Beauty: C+
Goodbye World: B
Only God Forgives: B
Lesson of the Evil: B
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton: A
Nobody's Daughter: B
Delivery: B+
The Conjuring: A
Forty Years From Yesterday: A-
The Way, Way, Back: B+
Gummo (1997, Harmony Korine)
Solomon: [voiceover] Xenia, Ohio. Xenia, Ohio. A few years ago, a tornado hit this place. It killed the people, left and right. Dogs died. Cats died. Houses were split open, and you could see necklaces hanging from branches of trees. People's legs and neck bones were sticking out. Oliver found a leg on his roof. A lot of people's fathers died, and were killed by the great tornado. I saw a girl fly through the sky, and I looked up her skirt. Her skull was smashed. And some kids died. My neighbor was killed in that house. He used to ride bikes and three-wheelers. They never found his head. I always thought that was funny. People died in Xenia. Before dad died, he had a bad case of diabetes.
It's been more than a week since The LA Film Fest but I haven't caught up on all my film reviews that I have to do from the fest. Slowly but surely, they will all come out! So, without further ado, here are the first batch of vlogs of the films!
Crystal Fairy (2013, Sebastian Silva)
Harry Dean Stanton: Partly Fiction (2013, Sophie Huber)
Our Vinyl Weighs a Ton (2013, Jeff Broadway)
The Way, Way Back (2013, Nat Faxon & Jim Rash)
Ain't Them Bodies Saints (2013, David Lowery)
Happy Together (1997, Wong Kar-wai)
Ho Po-wing: Do you regret being with me?
Lai Yiu-fai: Damn right I do! I had no regrets until I met you. Now my regrets could kill me.
GUYS. Like I mentioned before I'm super bad at updating my blog with all the film vlogs I've been making so be sure to subscribe to my youtube channel to get the first film reviews of the week! OK, now with that said, here is my first reaction of Sofia Coppola's new film, The Bling Ring! I had mentioned in the video that this is the first film of Coppola that is told in the male perspective but I am sorely wrong cause The Virgin Suicide was told through the neighborhood boy's eyes. Enjoy and definitely let me know what you think. This is one of her films that need to be discussed!
OMG! LA Film Fest is finally over. I'm so sad but also exhilarated about the amount of panels, parties, people, screenings, and everything I've attended to. I had been assigned to blog for the festival so here check out my article about Indiewire's Influencers!
Good Will Hunting (1997, Gus Van Sant)
Lambeau: You're angry at me for doing what you could have done; but ask yourself, Sean. Ask yourself if you want Will to feel that way, if you want him to feel like a failure.
Sean: Oh, you arrogant shit! That's why I don't come to the goddamned reunions, 'cause I can't stand that look in your eye. Ya know, that condescending, embarrassed look. You think I'm a failure, I know who I am, and I'm proud of what I do. I was a conscientious choice, I didn't fuck up! And you and your cronies think I'm some sort of pity case. You are your kiss-ass chorus following you around going, "The Fields Medal! The Fields Medal!" Why are you still so fuckin' afraid of failure?
LA Film Festival has finally arrived! It's going to be 10 days of just complete insanity so here we go!
June 13: Opening Party
June 15: Future Filmmakers Luncheon, Aint Them Bodies Saints, CineLatino
June 16: Rain, The Island of St. Matthews, The Spirit of Independence Honoring David O. Russell, You're Next
June 17: IndieWire's Influencers, Fruitvale Station, Evening Costa Gavras, The Spectacular Now
June 20: Casting By, Only God Forgives
June 21: The Spectacular Now, Delivery, The Conjuring
June 22: Winter in the Blood, Sound of your Story: Aint Them Body Saints, Venus vs., Spike Jonze: Rubber and his Comb, Lesson of the Evil
June 23: Dormant Beauty, House with the Turret
June 15: Future Filmmakers Luncheon, Aint Them Bodies Saints, CineLatino
June 16: Rain, The Island of St. Matthews, The Spirit of Independence Honoring David O. Russell, You're Next
June 17: IndieWire's Influencers, Fruitvale Station, Evening Costa Gavras, The Spectacular Now
June 20: Casting By, Only God Forgives
June 21: The Spectacular Now, Delivery, The Conjuring
June 22: Winter in the Blood, Sound of your Story: Aint Them Body Saints, Venus vs., Spike Jonze: Rubber and his Comb, Lesson of the Evil
June 23: Dormant Beauty, House with the Turret
Definitely say hi to me if you see me. I can't wait to hit up all the screenings, parties, and meet tons of cool people!
OH SHIT, YALL! It's here!! The first trailer to Korean filmmaker Bong Joon-ho's anticipated American debut film, Snowpiercer has finally arrived! With Tilda Swinton in her animated gear, it almost makes it feel like it has a Hungry Games vibe. I am so excited to see to see the full package of the film cause this little glimpse just shows a generic storyline of a man vs. man kind of story! And I definitely know Bong Joon-ho can tell a more thorough story than that! Snowpiercer will be released in the summer of 2013!!
His Girl Friday (1940, Howard Hawks)
Hildy Johnson: I suppose I proposed to you?
Walter Burns: Well, you practically did, making goo-goo eyes at me for two years until I broke down.
[impersonates Hildy, flutters his eyelashes]
Walter Burns: "Oh, Walter." And I still claim I was tight the night I proposed to you. If you had been a gentleman, you would have forgotten all about it. But Not you!
Hildy Johnson: [hurls her purse at him] Why, you - !
Walter Burns: [ducks and her purse barely misses him] You're losing your eye. You used to be able to pitch better than that.
IT'S OUT! Quite frankly, I'm getting kind of tired of Woody Allen's mid-life crisis' stories. But it's worse that I'm always down to watch his somewhat quirky films. But seeing the trailer of Blue Jasmine and witnessing Cate Blanchett channel her bitch side is undeniably awesome! I also can't wait to see Louis C.K. in this! Blue Jasmine comes out July 26!
Super late but here is my first reaction to 'The East!' Brit Marling, Ellen Page (my fav!) and the director, Zal Batmanglij came and did a Q&A after and they were undeniably adorable! I sometimes feel like I'm so focused on trying to absorb the actor's presence that I forget to listen to what they're saying. OK, excuse me being weird but yeah! Good thing, the Film Independent camera crew records all the Q&A's so definitely check it out once it's up! The film had an intriguing moments but Batmanglij played too closely to the undercover spy genre that the film just fell flat. Nonetheless, I still enjoyed certain moments that brought true awe.
There Will Be Blood (2007, Paul Thomas Anderson)
Daniel Plainview: [pitching his company to the people of Little Boston] Ladies and gentlemen? Ladies and gentlemen. Thank you so much for visiting with us this evening. Now, I've traveled across half our state to be here and to see about this land. Now, I daresay some of you might have heard some of the more extravagant rumors about what my plans are; I just thought you'd like to hear it from me. This is the face. There's no great mystery. I'm an oilman, ladies and gentlemen. I have numerous concerns spread across this state. I have many wells flowing at many thousand barrels per day. I like to think of myself as an oilman. As an oilman, I hope that you'll forgive just good old fashioned plain-speaking. Now, this work that we do is very much a family enterprise- I work side by side with my wonderful son, H.W.- I think one or two of you might have met him already. And I encourage my men to bring their families, as well. Of course it makes for an ever so much more rewarding life for them. Family means children. Children means education. So wherever we set up camp, education is a necessity, and we're just so happy to take care of that. So let's build a wonderful school in Little Boston. These children are the future that we strive for and so they should have the very best of things. Now something else, and please don't be insulted if I speak about this - bread. Let's talk about bread. Now to my mind, its an abomination to consider that any man, woman or child in this magnificent country of ours should have to look upon a loaf of bread as a luxury. We're going to dig water wells here. Water wells means irrigation, irrigation means cultivation. We're going to raise crops here where before it just simply was impossible. You're going to have more grain than you'll know what to do with. Bread will be coming right out of your ears, ma'am. New roads. Agriculture. Employment, education. These are just a few of the things we can offer you, and I assure you ladies and gentlemen, that if we do find oil here, and I think there's a very good chance that we will, this community of yours will not only survive, it will flourish.
